Most people might not expect their natural hair texture to be irrevocably altered after one trip to a salon.
One North Carolina woman warned viewers of a practice rumored to occur at Dominican salons. She believed it only to be a malicious rumor—that is, until her hair was changed permanently by one wash.
Content creator Shaquira (@shaquiraholmes6) shared a five-minute video that has drawn over 262,000 views on TikTok. She says she went to her local Dominican hair salon for a wash and trim. However, it changed the texture of her hair.
What happened?
“So all my natural girls, the Dominican salons is putting perms into your shampoo and conditioner bottles without you knowing,” she says in the video. “They are perming or relaxing your hair while they shampoo it.”
She continues, “I did not want to believe this, but I was seeing videos about it and I was thinking those are just isolated incidents, and that this would never happen to me, until it happened to me last week.”
Shaquira says she went to the salon for a wash and trim to prepare for an event. She did not feel like washing her own hair at home, as many women who have perfected the wash and set, or wash and blow dry, have done for decades at their favorite salons.
“Unbeknownst to me, I ended up going to the Dominican salon,” she says. “My company was having a party the day after. I didn’t feel like washing my hair. Mind you, I’ve been natural for seven years now, so I know the texture my hair should be.”
Shaquira says she called the salon for an appointment after her work day ended. It was a salon she had been to several times before for a trim, but not a wash. This time, she asked for a wash and trim.
A change in texture
Days after her appointment, she says her hair remained straight, even after it should have begun to revert to her natural texture. While her hair can normally make a silk press last for up to three weeks, she says she found her hair to be greasy and in need of a wash after just a few days.
“I could not wait no more after seven days of my hair feeling greasy, sticking to my scalp, bone straight,” she says. “I’m like, I need to wash my hair so I can get my texture back. I washed my hair last night, I mean scrubbing it, washing it three good times, conditioning, everything. Waiting for my hair to convert back to its thick, puffy, textured Black girl hair, and my texture never came back.”
She lamented the damage done to her hair after seven years of growing it out and embracing her natural texture. Shaquira suggested that she might seek legal action against the salon.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @shaquiraholmes6 via email regarding the video.
Do Dominican salons have relaxers in their shampoo?
While practices may differ from salon to salon, there are multiple accounts online of women going to Dominican salons for hair services, and reporting that their hair has been changed permanently as a result of products used.
One woman writes that her sister had her hair done, and it was damaged after. Another hair professional informed her that her hair had been damaged by a perm, or a relaxer.
Another salon has taken the time to write out an explanation of how a customer might be able to tell if their shampoo has had relaxer mixed into it.
It remains unclear whether salons are actually adding relaxing agents to shampoo. It seems there is fear around what might actually be causing damage to women’s hair after visiting a salon. Some people have reported one-off instances of this happening.
What is a Dominican blowout?
One reason many women seek out a Dominican salon in the first place is to receive a Dominican blowout. This is a hair styling technique that achieves a smooth, sleek blow dry by using high levels of heat on the hair.
Viewers are on her side
Some viewers shared that this was not the first time they had heard a story about a texture-changing experience from such a salon.
“I always heard that they do that definitely unethical,” one commenter wrote.
“Who is still going to them??” another said. “We figured this out YEARS ago.”
“Dominican New Yorker here and I always take my own shampoo & conditioner because I don’t trust my own pple,” one said.
@shaquiraholmes6 The Dominican Salons are putting Relaxer in their shampoo & Conditioner unbeknownst to you! Natural hair community tap in! Please be careful going to these salons if your a natural hair girl! #naturalhair #naturalhaircommunity #naturalhairtiktok #natural #fyp #viraltiktok ♬ original sound – Shaquira
Others suggested that it wasn’t a relaxer put on her hair at all, rather, that the salon might have used a keratin shampoo. This can also produce straightening effects in the hair.
“Keratin shampoo changes your texture, I made the mistake of buying a keratin shampoo and conditioner,” one commenter wrote.
“it’s more likely a keratin treatment than an actual relaxer,” another commenter wrote.
“I believe that they use a keratin heat treatment,” a commenter wrote. “I went through a similar experience.”
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